Temperature regulating means



Aug. 28, 1934 MCAULEY 7 1,971,532

TEMPERATURE REGULATING MEANS Filed Dec. 10, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2lhwentor JAMES H.MAULEY BB dfi/MM attorney J,

Patented Aug. 28, 1934 UNITED STATES TEMPERATURE REGULATING MEANS JamesH. McAuley, Columbus, Ohio Application December 10, 1932, Serial No.646,654

' 3 Claims. (01. 236-91) An"object of the invention is to provideimproved means whereby the power for automatically controlling andregulating the production of heat consists of a liquid having asuiiicient coeflicient of expansion by heat, said liquid confined in acontainer system including two communicating expansible and contractiblemembers, one of which adapted to actuate the source of heat or heatproduction means and the other in the enclosure to be warmed adapted tobe adjusted to control the temperature range of operation of the firstmentioned member. A further object of the invention is that such meansshall be the sole means for automatically controlling the heat pro- 15'duction and regulation thereby dispensing with the aid of electricityor other artificially produced power. Other objects will appear from thedisclosure herein.

The invention is embodied in the example here- 20 in shown anddescribed, the features of novelty being finally claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 exhibits somewhat diagrammaticallya general view mainly in elevation with parts in section of my inventionas installed in a house or other building.

Fig. 2 is a detail view on a larger scale with parts in full, partsinsection and parts broken out of the liquid regulating system.

v Fig. 3 is a detail view showing that side of the housing for thethermo-regulating element containing the scale indicator for settingthat element to obtain and maintain a substantially given roomtemperature.

5 In the views 5 designates the cellar of a house or other building; 6one of the beams carrying the floor 6; and 7 a room or enclosure to beheated. An exterior wall of the house is designated 8.

The character. 9 designates an'ordinary hot air furnace having smokeflue 10 containing a gravity check valve 10; fuel feed doorll; and ashpit door 12 hinged on a vertical axis, and a draft door 13 of lightweight connected to said ash pit door 12 by a horizontal hinge pin 14 soas to be actuated by gravity in closing. The furnace also has a hot airflue 15 for conveying heated air through a register 16 to the enclosureabove and a flue 17 for returning air irom. the enclosure above througha grating to the air heating chamber of the furnace. The constructionthus described is that commonly employed in the type. of air heatingaparatus in which coal, gas or oil may be the fuel and further detailsthereof hardly need added description.

5 My apparatus for regulating the room temperature comprises a liquidcontainer'system including a vertical metallic corrugated resilientmem-- ber 20 supported fixedly at its upper head on a bracket -21fastened to the floor beam 6 conveniently near the top of the furnaceand engaging at its lower end a movable .bar 22 hingedly supported onsaid bracket so that'when the member 20 is expanded or contracted from aneutral position a lever 23 connected with the lower end of said bar 22moves with the lower end of said member 20.

The liquid container system also includes in the room or enclosure abovea similar corrugated resilient liquid containing member 25 supported,fixedly at its lower end on a bracket 26in a suitable housing 27 havingsufficient openings permitting circulation of air thereabout and amovable cover at the top.

The upper end or head of said member 25 ca ries an arm 28 hingedlyconnected by upper'and lower links 29 and 30 respectively to suitableears in the housing so that said member 25 is capable of expansionupward and contraction downward.

To efiect such movement and adjust the member for predetermining thetemperature to be obtained by the apparatus there is provided anadjusting screw 31 having a knurled head, said screw threaded in thehousing 27 so that its end shall press on a lug 32 fixed on the link 30.Preferably the member 25 is so installed that pressure is required toeffect its adjusting contraction, and when pressure is relieved theresilience thereof and internal pressure effects its expansion as whenadjusting screw is turned in the releasing direction. The lug 32 has anarm extension 32* the free end of which is oscillated in an arcuatedslot 33 in the side of the housing 27, said end of the arm having a bentpointer 33 that cooperates with a scale to indicate the temperature tobe obtained and maintained in the room.

The two bellows-like members 20 and 25 are communicatingly connected bya vertical pipe 35 in which is interposed a T-pipe connection 36carrying a lateral pipe 37 slightly inclined (see Fig. 1) and containingthree bulbs as, 39 and 40. The bulb 38 is extended into the hot-airflue, the bulb 39 in the air return flue and the bulb 40 -located in theatmosphere externally of the building.

For the purpose of enlarging the volume of liquid in the system and thesurface for heat transference a T-connection 41 having alength of pipemam-(me thereto can be added,

After installation the system is filled with a liquid having asatisfactory coemcient'of expansion so as to be responsive to ordinaryatmospheric variations of temperature. I have used with satisfactoryresults a liquid called Prestone, and which I understand to be mainlyglycol and used as an anti-freeze for automobile radiators and has ahigh boiling point. The liquid employed should be such that it is immuneto freezing at any probable temperature when the atmosphere bulb isemployed. Further it is de sirable that the boiling point of the liquidshould be sufiiciently high so that in the event of an emergency givingtoo excessive heat to liquid will not boil and injure or burst theapparatus of the thermo-sensitive system. While the apparatus is workingthere will ordinarily be sufficient heat from the furnace in theneighborhood of the apparatus to prevent freezing in the extremesttemperature. The liquid can be supplied to the system by pressurethrough a suitable opening such as that shown as closed with a screwplug 43 in the bottom of the member 20 or through an opening such asthat shown in the top of the member 25 closed by a screw plug. 44. Whenthe system is filled by pressure at the bottom opening the air is forcedout at the top opening, the latter being first opened by removing itsplug 44. The liquid containing system should be filled excluding'airand, if after chargingthe system through the larger opening thereremains any unsupplied space, the completion of the charging can beeffected through the small opening closed by the plug 44 at the top ofthe chamber member 25.

Referring again to Fig. 1 the lower lever 23 has connected to one of thethree holes therein, according to the throw needed, one end of a chain45 that extends to and is connected with one arm of a bent lever 46fulcrumed in a bracket 47 affixed to the floor beam. Each arm of saidlever 46 is provided with a weight adjustable thereon as shown at 48 and49 respectively'the weight of the longer arm, plus its weight 49, beingpreponderate, and exerting a constant pressure upward on the chamber 20.

Connecting a lateral lug 13 on the lower end of the draft door 13 and aneye. on the check valve 10 is a chain 50 which is passed upward from thedraft door over a pulley 51 hung from the floor beam and a pulley 5'2journaled in the free end of arm 53 pivoted at the end of a bracket 54secured to the floor beam. The chain 50 is connected with the chain 45at a ring 55 so that when one of the chain's moves, either up or down,the other is drawn with it. It will be observed that as the weight 49 ofthe arm departs from a vertical line through its pivot its powerincreases and therefore compensates for the increasing pull of therising draft door thus reducing the power required to operate thelatter.

Connected to the arm 53 is a chain 56 that is extended upward and overthe pulleys 5'7 and 58 secured in brackets to the floor beam and thencedownward to one of the other of two hooks 59 and 60 located, one spacedabove the other, on the furnace shell so that by drawing down the freeend of chain 56 and attaching the same to the lower hook the apparatusis placed in condition for operation by the temperature. If thetemperature in the room is below that which is desired the check valve10 will be closed and the draft valve opened, or partially according tothe amount of heat required to obtain the desired room temperature. 7

The chain 50 is'of such length that when the chain 56 is pulled down andengaged with the lower hook 60 the check door 10? is raised to make amaximum opening and the draft door 13 will be 4 closed provided the door13 is maximally open the 7 check 10 will be completely closed and inoperation the draft and check open or close in inverse proportion toeach other. i

In installation chain 56 is of such length and hooks 59 and 60 are ofsuch position apart that when chain 56 is connected to hook 59 check 10will be closed regardless of the position of door 13.

In the operation it will be observed that when the upper bellows-likemember is manually contracted a portion of the liquid is transferred tothe lower bellows-like member in the cellar and conversely when saidupper bellows-like member is expanded a portion of the liquid in thelower bellows-like member is transferred into the upper bellows-likemember 25 by reason of the weight 49 and the lower bellows-like membercontracted. It follows from these transfers of liquid that the lever 23is lowered and raised, respectively, and therefore the extent of theoperation of the draft door and opening produced thereby regulated. Ifthen the upper bellows-like member is fixed by the setting screw 44 fora given room temperature, variations of the position of the lever 23 islot actuated only by variations in the room temperature because of theexpanding and contracting character of the liquid confined in the systemincluding said bellows-like members. I

From this characteristic of my invention it will 105 be plain that afterthe bellows-like member 25 is set no force other than that inherent inthe system and its members is required to control the production of heatand the regulation of the room temperature.

The view Fig. 1 represents the apparatus in non-operative or firing orstoking position. In the last two conditions this is for the purpose ofpreventing smoke from issuing through door 11 while open. When in coldweather, just after 115 the fire is established, and the bellows-likemember 25 adjusted to obtain the room temperature desired the freeportion of the chain 56 is drawn down and engaged with the lower hook60, thus opening the check valve 10, independently of the 120 draft door13 because the distance or portion of chain from the checking openingaround the system of pulleys to the draft door is lengthened by reasonof the diminished angle in the chain at the pulley 52. Thereafter theoutside temperature, if sufficiently low, causes contraction of theliquid in the bulb 40 and the collapsing of bellows 20 thereby drawingup chain 50 and opening the draft door also closing check damper 10rapidly stimulating the fire and raising heat. The temperature of theheated air in flue 15 expands the liquid in bulb 39 thereby expandingelement 20 gradually and thereby lowering chain 50 and draft door andproportionally opening check damper 10. When the temperature of theheated air in hot air flue 15 is sufficiently high to bring roomtemperature to the predetermined temperature the draft door will becompletely closed. As the room comes to the proper temperature theliquid in the rooms container 25 140 expands and expands the element 20thereby keeping the draft door closed. When the room temperature is set,for example at degrees, the heated air passing through flue 15 must beat a much higher temperature, say degrees, to 145 bring the roomtemperature to that needed to maintain the '70 degrees temperature inthe room. When the liquid of member 25 is expanded sufficiently to closethe draft door damper as the room temperature rises the liquid of thesystem 150 of the room expands counteracting the contraction of theliquid of the bulb 38 in the flue 15; and as the furnace cools down byreason of the closing of the damper so that when the room temperaturereaches '70 the temperature of the airpassing through flue 15 willbesuflicient to maintain the room temperature at that degree. If not sothe liquid in bulb 38 will be contracted sufliciently to open the draft"door to increase combustion and heat air in flue 15 to the necessarytemperature. 7 1

The temperature of the air passing through flue 15, to maintain thedesired room tempera-- ture, varies inversely to the externalatmospheric temperature. Decreasing outside temperature contracts theliquid in bulb 40 and the thermosensitive system. The contraction of theliquid in bulb 40, as indicated, contracts collapsible member 20 andstimulates combustion thereby increasing the temperature of air passingthrough flue 15 thus causing expansion of liquid in bulb '38, andthermo-sensitive system.

More heat must be supplied to an enclosure on a windy day than on astill day to maintain the same temperature even though the outsidetemperature is the same in both cases. High wind forces cold air intothe room or enclosure to be heated, and'coming in contact with warm air,the cold air seeks the floor and is drawn down flue 17, in theconstruction of the heating system shown, contracting the liquid in bulb39 making it necessary for more heat to be supplied to the enclosurethrough flue 15 to expand liquid in bulb 38 and counteracting saidcontraction of liquid in bulb 39.

The forms, sizes, proportions and materials of the parts can be changedwithout departing from the gist of the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

1. Means for regulating the temperature of a room, said means includinga heating element having a discharge into and a return conductor fromthe room, a system of communicatingly connected container elementsfilled with and confining a liquid expansible by heat, said systemincluding a thermostatic element in the room in which the temperature isto be regulated, one of said containers located in the discharge of theheating medium of the heating element, a second of said containers inthe path of the return of the heating medium to the heating element, anda third of said containers exposed to the external atmosphere, and meansactuated by expansion and contraction of the liquid in said system forregulating the heat produced by said heating element.

2. Means for regulating the temperature of a room, said means includinga heating element having a discharge into and a return conductor fromthe room, a system of communicatingly connected container elementsfilled with and confining a liquid expansible by heat, said systemincluding a thermostatic element in the room in which the temperature isto be regulated and means whereby said thermostatic element can beadjusted to obtain a predetermined room temperature, one of saidcontainers located in the discharge of the heating element, asecond ofsaid containers located in the path of the return of the heating mediumto the heating element, and a third of said containers exposed to theexternal atmosphere, and means actuated by expansion and contraction ofthe liquid in said system for regulating the heat produced by theheating element.

3. Means for regulating the temperature of a room, said means includinga heating element, having a discharge into and a return conductor 'fromthe room, a system of communicatingly connected container elementsfilled with and confining a liquid expansible by heat, said systemincluding a thermostatic element in the room in which the predeterminedtemperature is to be maintained, one of said containers located in the11 discharge to the room of the heating medium of' the heating element,a second of said containers located in the path of the return of theheating medium to the heating element, and a third of saidcontainersexposed to the external atmos-- phere, and means actuated byexpansion and contraction of the liquid in said system for regulatingthe heat produced by said heating element, said last named meansincluding a resilient bellows-like member, a lever actuated thereby, andmeans for compensating for variations of strain of the regulator for theheat producing element. JAMES H. McAULEY.

